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Sunday, November 3, 2013

Part 1 of the Black Years
It is normal for me to awake in such intense pain that it is hard to think, let
alone do anything, but the day the people from Florida came was unusually awful.
With the way I had abused my body getting my farm and my Arabian horses ready,
all the muscles in my body ached but my abdominal muscles were particularly sore
and the nerve endings were screaming from irritation.

With the people not
due until late afternoon, I took the time to perform my usual morning ritual for
pain. There really was no way I could get right to work, even though that is
what I would have preferred. Instead I had to take my morning medication and
pile myself under a mound of blankets and wait for the drugs to kick
in.

Because I had pushed myself well beyond my limits, I knew I could not
hope for much relief but the added heat could only help my aching muscles. I
gave myself the two hours that would normally get me to the point I could think
about something other than how badly I hurt and hoped for the best.

The
mountain of throws and blankets I buried myself under did the best job they
could under the circumstances. My pain was too intense to diminish but the
blankets did restore warmth to my ravaged body. That in itself was enough of a
relief that I was able to get to my feet so I could attack the day facing
me.

Dave and Lindsay were doing the regular barn chores so everything
would be presentable and I took care of the horses myself. My first line of
business was to check the status of all my horses.

The usual culprits
had stains to be addressed and I had a few with knots in their manes. With the
people not due at the airport until noon, I figured I had at least until
sometime after 2 before they could possibly get here factoring in the time it
would take to pick up their luggage, rent a car and make the drive here. That
gave me some time to get things done right.

Since the weather was nice I
decided I would turn out most of the horses. It would be easier for the people
to get a good look at them outside than cooped up in their stalls. I couldn't
put all of the stallions out but I could do a couple of them. The stallions are
animated wherever they are so those in their stalls would still make an
impression. With my electric fence now repaired I could put one stallion in the
paddock in front of my house and geldings in the field next to him. Then I could
put Legs in the round pen with his mares around him. Since he has grown up
dealing with this, he is fine. The rest of the mares I split between the other
two fields. All of this should give these folks a pretty good idea of what kinds
of minds these horses have as well as their conformation and talent.

There were some muddy spots in those fields or paddocks that always
beckon the horses for a hearty roll. To counter against this I rinsed the horses
that needed it and returned them to their stalls until they were dry. The warm
morning quickly dried the horses except for the parts that collect water,
under-belly, lower legs, and underneath their manes mostly but I thought those
parts would dry quicker outside in the sun.

To keep the horses from
rolling in the muddy areas, I laid out piles of hay, spaced to not cause
disputes, and turned the horses out. Because grass is sparse, the horses all
think the hay is some kind of special treat and each is too worried he/ she will
miss out if a claim is not immediately staked out over a favored pile. That
pretty much saved me from delighted ponies rolling and destroying all my hard
work.

If any did roll it was hard to tell. Their coats were so slick and
shiny and the day so warm, the mud must have dried immediately and the resulting
dust quickly slid off. I didn't have to redo a single horse because of rolling
outside although I did add more hay to assure they all stayed occupied munching
hay until they were thoroughly dry.

Of course none of the grey mares had
looked particularly clean when I checked them but Faye was the worst. She just
happened to be our queen for the day and she looked like she hadn't been cleaned
up at all. I decided to deal with her thinking that would be my best shot at
having her look good when our guests arrived.

Lots of the horses looked
just fine so I had put those horses out while the other horses were drying. If I
came across a horse with a tangled mane, I brushed it out before I turned that
horse out. I checked my watch regularly gauging my progress against what I had
left.

I thought I was making great progress until my cell phone rang. It
was just after noon but my visitors weren't calling from the airport. They were
just a few miles down the road. They wanted to know if it was ok if they arrived
in about ten minutes.